The DWARF Debugging Information Format Standards Committee is pleased to announce the availability
of Version 5 of the DWARF Debugging Format Standard. The DWARF Debugging Format is used to
communicate debugging information between a compiler and debugger to make it easier for programmers
to develop, test, and debug programs.
DWARF is used by a wide range of compilers and debuggers, both proprietary and open source, to
support debugging of Ada, C, C++, Cobol, FORTRAN, Java, and other programming languages. DWARF V5
adds support for new languages like Rust, Swift, Ocaml, Go, and Haskell, as well as support for new
features in older languages. DWARF can be used with a wide range of processor architectures, such as
x86, ARM, PowerPC, from 8-bit to 64-bit.
DWARF is the standard debugging format for Linux and several versions of Unix and is widely used
with embedded processors. DWARF is designed to be extended easily to support new languages and new
architectures.
The DWARF Version 5 Standard has been in development for six years. DWARF Committee members include
representatives from over a dozen major companies with extensive experience in compiler and debugger
development. Version 5 incorporates improvements in many areas: better data compression, separation
of debugging data from executable files, improved description of macros and source files, faster
searching for symbols, improved debugging of optimized code, as well as numerous improvements in
functionality and performance.
The DWARF Version 5 Standard can be downloaded without charge from the DWARF website (dwarfstd.org).
Additional information about DWARF, including how to subscribe to the DWARF mailing list, can also
be found on the website. Questions about the DWARF Debugging Information Format or the DWARF
Committee can be directed to the DWARF Committee Chair, Michael Eager at info at dwarfstd.org.
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Michael Eager eager at eagercon.com
1960 Park Blvd., Palo Alto, CA 94306 650-325-8077